Inside the dungeon:
Soon, Harnik came to his senses and began observing his surroundings.
The light was not particularly high in this place – enough to see objects, but hard to read.
He observed the statue behind the altar and was mesmerized by it.
The statue was huge and seemed alive, observing everyone inside the dungeon.
He couldn't shake the feeling that someone was observing him from somewhere.
Soon, James approached him, "What do we do, Harnik? There is not a single member of the dungeon core left. It's free to take."
"Let's observe first; don't be impatient. Search for any clues about the previous team," Harnik replied.
"Okay," said James, relaying the message to the others.
Soon, they started searching. Even though the bodies had dissolved in the dungeon, the artifacts remained. Everyone was doing their job – some were taking reports, while others were trying to decipher the ancient letters on the walls. These letters were common in this type of dungeon, and many believed they were responsible for the energy veins within the dungeon.
Energy veins or mystical veins, they were the same – like human veins, but instead of blood, mystical energy flowed through them, making the dungeon function. The concept of mystical veins was alien to today's generation, and despite the nonstop efforts of big organizations, not much progress had been made in this sector.
__________*****
After searching for about an hour, no clue was found. Everyone gathered around, thinking of the next course of action.
"Harnik, it seems nothing remains of the previous team," said someone.
"It seems like that. Let's clear the floor, then collect the core. Maybe that will give us answers," Harnik replied, though he knew that wasn't the solution.
"I disagree," came the sound from the research team.
Everyone was surprised because the research team was not generally treated well and had no say in most cases. Everyone's focus turned to the lady, around 30 years old, with black hair that complemented her face and height.
"And who might you be, miss?" asked James with an annoying expression.
"I am Jessica. Jessica Kinnight," said Jessica with a commanding voice.
Some people seemed shocked, while others had expressions like, 'this is going to get bad.'
With a frown, James asked, "And why do you disagree, Mrs. Kinnight?"
Although Jessica's standing was at C rank, no one dared to step ahead of her. In the social world, her standing was higher than an A-rank awakener, after all.
"We should check once again and try to understand the whole altar," Jessica replied.
"That's not possible; we've already wasted so much time. We cannot delay any more," Harnik's voice was full of authority, leaving no room for negotiation. After all, he was leading the team and had full authority over the course of action for every member.
"You aren't understanding. What if they are all alive and trapped somewhere here? Will you take responsibility?" said Jessica, trembling slightly.
Not because of her SS-rank aura, but because she was afraid of her worst nightmare. She had entered the dungeon expecting to return with her beloved, but after finding no clue, fear had started to form in her heart.
Seeing her trembling, Harnik understood what she meant, but he didn't sympathize with her. After all, what happened to the other party was not his concern. James also looked on, smirking. He didn't like how his standing was equal to a C-rank, after all.
"Then let's vote, Mrs. Kinnight. I don't want any unnecessary delay. Okay with you?" said Harnik.
Understanding her situation, she nodded. The only person who supported her was Charles, who was known for being neutral all this time. His choice surprised everyone, but no one said anything. And this way, Harnik won with an overwhelming vote.
"Then let's collect the core and leave," said Harnik in a monotonic voice.
"Let me collect at least. I'll be able to touch this big core in my lifetime," said James in an enthusiastic way.
Harnik nodded. After all, he didn't mind who collected what. In the end, everything would go into the High Council's pocket.
James left his place as if he teleported. Soon, when he was a hand away from the core, his vision changed. He spotted the headless body floating a hand away from the crystal. Blood was spurting out from the body, dying the whole body red.
And what did he feel? Nothing. He felt weightlessness, like nothing existed. He died instantly.
The whole group was shocked. No one dared to disrupt the silence, not even Harnik.
No one can take the speed of an S-rank lightly. They can move with the speed of more than sound. Their speed is three times higher than the speed of sound. James' speed was four times higher than sound, as he was a middle S-rank awakener.
Even his speed was only six times higher than sound. And what was peculiar about his death was that he only saw the shadow of a sword slashing through James.
After six seconds, a scream came from the side of the research team. Some people fainted from seeing what just transpired. Seeing them, the awakener felt disgusted, but that soon changed as something more disturbing appeared in front of them.
Soon, at Harnik's command, people stationed themselves in their positions, defending the researchers. After all, they were all professionals trained to handle extreme environments.
S-ranks positioned themselves as well.
Harnik was still uncertain about what attacked James but left the investigation for later. Their lives came first.
After some time passed without any attack on the team, panic seemed to form among them.
Soon, one guy screamed, "F*ck! I don't want to die! I don't want to die!"
He repeated those words again and again.
Most A-rank members began to panic.
Suddenly, the first guy who panicked started running towards the statue to end it all after taking the core.
Without the core, no dungeon organisms and monsters would remain functional.
Soon, when he cut through the wisp, his headless body fell to the floor. Furthermore, most of the A-rank and B-rank members didn't notice anything, but Harnik did.
The thing that killed the guy just now was something he didn't expect.